Even Heroes Bleed
by Saoirse Robinson
Summary: NOVEL. Six years after the World Seed, Kirito leads a double life. A hacker by night, he believes no one knows his true identity, not even Asuna. When a mysterious organization comes after him, however, he is forced to keep more and more secrets from Asuna as he falls deeper down the rabbit hole. REGULAR UPDATES.
1. Chapter 1: F13

Story: "Even Heroes Bleed" by Saoirse Robinson

Chapter 1: "F13"

Disclaimer: this is a fan fiction of Sword Art Online and I am not making money from this. This is however, also my original work.

Fan Art: is welcome, message me with a link. Link back to my fanfic.

Individual Chapter Rating: T for mild sexual descriptions and language.

Word Count: 4,500

Takes place: 6 years after the anime episode "World Seed" (backstory takes into account SAO and ALfheim arcs only)

Chapter Description: Kirito receives a cryptic invitation to meet from an unknown sender, and chooses to hide the meeting from Asuna.

* * *

F13

In the front of a classroom full of uniformed students, a teacher scribbled notes on the smart-board, oblivious to the hands passing notes behind her. Each student had a school-issue laptop, which didn't excite the students as much as it should have: only the word processor could be opened. In the back of the classroom, however, a small boy with blond hair that covered his eyes stared at his laptop screen, where a notification for a message had just popped up. Click. Embedded in the message was a video file.

Click. Click.

The video — time-lapse footage of the front of an apartment building — looked to have been taken with a high-quality surveillance camera. Another message came through the chat: 8:33:41. Understanding, the boy moved the slider on the video to the appropriate hour, and sure enough, a man appeared on the screen, searching his pockets for keys to get in. A young woman with long hair suddenly appeared behind him, handing him her keys. They went inside, but not before stopping to check the mail. The boy zoomed in. Apartment letter F13…

The boy replayed the video footage several times, watching the man enter the building, watching the way the woman leaned into him. His dark hair obscured his face, but the woman wore hers pulled back, and he could see that they were clearly Japanese. He paused the video, freezing the woman mid-smile.

"Gene," the teacher called. "Can you tell me what the capital of Missouri is?"

The blond-haired boy didn't hesitate. "Jefferson City."

"Very good," the teacher said. "Someone else, Arkansas?"

His eyes still glued to his laptop, Gene watched the video for several more minutes, ignoring the voices of his classmates. When the bell finally sounded for the end of class, all the rest of the students got up, but Gene stayed seated for a moment. Just then, two more messages came through the chat, one after another.

_Kazuto Kirigaya_, said the first.

Then:

_Yuuki Asuna_.

* * *

Kirito was hurrying down the crowded New York street when his eyeglass began to blink, displaying an incoming call from Asuna. He let it ring once, then twice. He sighed, then tapped to answer.

"Asuna!" he said, forcing himself to sound cheerful as he dodged a street vendor, then a man with a briefcase. "Hi."

"Kirito, where are you?" she demanded. "You turned off your location tracking."

"I-I did?" He laughed nervously. "I must've turned it off in the lab by mistake…"

She made a frustrated noise. "It doesn't matter. Where are you?"

Buildings towered everywhere he looked. As he walked he passed gentleman's clubs, street artists with spray paint, stands selling hotdogs, and tourists getting their caricatures done. The street was as jammed with taxis as the sidewalk was with people. Almost all of the other pedestrians wore eyeglasses as well: a single glass that hooked over one ear, giving them worldwide access at the tap of a finger.

"Manhattan."

"You're still in _Manhattan_?"

A bead of sweat formed on Kirito's brow. "There was construction on the subway. I decided to get out and walk."

"Kirito, I swear, sometimes…" she trailed off. "I'm not waiting to make you dinner, just so you know."

"I'll stop and get something."

Asuna fell silent. Kirito swallowed.

When she spoke again, however, her voice was soft with disappointment. "I thought we were going in-game tonight."

"I'll meet you there later, after I get home," he said. "I promise. At the lake house. Tell Yui I'll be there."

"Okay," she said. "Just come home soon, Kirito."

"I will," he said, forcing a smile into his voice. "See you soon."

The moment they hung up, he broke into a run, heading down a flight of steps into the subway.

_I hate lying to Asuna_, he thought. _Dammit. I can't tell her…_

Once onboard the train, he flipped through the notes on his eyeglass, searching for an address. The train was crowded around this time, the walls a glaring yellow color, and the floor shook so much under him that he had to grasp a railing to keep from falling into people. Finding the address he was looking for, he copied and pasted it into maps with a few taps of his fingers. The train was headed to Queens, which meant it was going in the opposite direction of Brooklyn, where he lived with Asuna in their modest Williamsburg apartment. He wasn't sure he would be able to make it home in time to put on his NerveGear and meet up with Asuna. The thought made his stomach clench. Why had he promised her he would be home in time? He should've lied, should've made an excuse…

His brow furrowed as he stared at the location on the map. No matter what happened, he would have to make sure he got out of there at a decent time. He tapped his glass — it was 6:30 now. Asuna would probably go in-game at 7:00, and stay in for three or four hours at the most. She had classes in the morning, after all, just as Kirito did. He could finish this in an hour, right? He just needed to find out what these people wanted from him.

As the red location marker blinked before his eyes, he contemplated his reasons for hiding all this from Asuna. The only thing that came to mind was an image of Yui and Asuna swimming and splashing in the lake, the one just outside the home they had purchased in a game world called New Aincrad. The happy smiles on their faces. Asuna beckoning him into the water. That was what he wanted for her. He didn't want her to have to worry about him, or Yui, or the fate of the hundreds of game worlds they were a part of. She had suffered enough.

When it came down to it, Kirito wasn't entirely sure why he had agreed to meet the anonymous messenger in the first place. He told himself it was just curiosity, a need to see the face of the person who was capable of finding a way to contact him. The person who had contacted him had called himself Sylver, but hadn't volunteered any more information. They had noticed Kirito's presence behind the scenes in the World Sphere, Sylver said, and wanted to meet with him in person. To discuss what, he could only guess. Kirito still had no idea how they'd gotten his contact information.

A notification suddenly appeared on his glass, distracting him from his thoughts. He opened the message with a tap, and read.

_Find the symbol you recognize._

Kirito stared at the message for a long time. The sender was listed as unknown, not even a number or a handle. What did it mean? Ever since these people had contacted him, it had been nothing but message after cryptic message. Find the symbol you recognize? Frustrated, Kirito flipped back to the map, distracting himself from thoughts of Asuna by watching his progress toward his destination.

When he finally arrived in Queens, he fought his way above ground, jostling with the people filing in and out of the subway. The air was filled with the sounds of car horns, and the smells of kebob sizzling. Most of what he passed seemed to be under construction: he hurried under scaffolding and past road workers, down the busy street toward the address Sylver had sent him. After a while he found himself in a more residential part of town, although the corner shops were all rundown, and every other wall was coated in graffiti. When he finally arrived at his destination, he stopped. The sign above the door read Bar Zero, and he could hear music coming from within. Feeling uncertain, he opened the door and went inside.

Bar Zero was exactly what it claimed to be, at least in appearances. It was crowded, the whole place suffused with gaudy neon light. People drank, laughed, and chatted, some even going so far as to find secluded corners in which to grope and fondle one another. Kirito looked away from one such scene, heading instead for the bar. He sincerely hoped that the symbol he was supposed to recognize was not located in some dark corner, hidden behind two tangled bodies.

Kirito walked along the bar, then through the tables, looking people up and down, and receiving some odd looks in the process. He couldn't find anyone sitting alone: all the women were surrounded by men, and all the men were chasing women. Why had they given him such a cryptic clue, anyway? Was he even in the right place? Perhaps he was supposed to go to the basement, or something. He went to the restroom, on the off chance there was something valuable in there, but there was nothing. Eventually he went to the bar, resigning himself to the possibility that the thing he was supposed to find was actually something that would find him.

After a minute at the bar, the bartender finally noticed him. "What can I get you?"

"The cheapest beer," he said in accented English.

As the bartender walked away, the women sitting next to him laughed loudly. Kirito slouched in his seat, making only the smallest effort to search his surroundings. The bar was so full of people, he felt as though he'd been assigned a needle in a haystack. On the bright side, if he didn't find anybody, he could go home and keep his promise to Asuna.

When the bartender set his beer in front of him, the woman sitting next to him turned, taking a sudden interest in him.

"Well, hello," she said a bit drunkenly. "Where are you from?"

"Brooklyn," Kirito replied, trying not to look at her.

"No, I mean where are you from," she said again, giggling. "You're obviously not from America."

Holding back a sigh, Kirito looked at the smiling, slouching woman in front of him. She wore an incredibly low-cut dress, and her dark hair spilled over one shoulder. Her eyes were hazy with drink, and there were traces of her lipstick on the rim of her glass.

"Japan," he said, not wanting to engage her too heavily. "I came here four years ago."

She leaned closer. "Oh, Japan! I bet your girls don't have tits like these back home," she said, squeezing her breasts between her arms.

Kirito swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Why don't you buy me a drink, handsome?" she purred, setting her empty glass down on the counter. "I've never done it with a Japanese guy before. And you're so cute…"

She was leaning closer. _I have to back away_, Kirito thought. "I have a wi—"

Before he could finish, she kissed him.

Kirito tried to push away, but she grabbed him around the waist, pulling him closer. Panicking, Kirito turned his head quickly, trying to escape her grasp. "I'm married!" he shouted, though it was so loud in the bar he wasn't sure if she'd even heard him.

After a moment though, her arms relaxed. "Oh, he's married. Of course a cute guy like you would be married. Don't worry, I've got plenty of guys who will buy me drinks." She leaned back, away from Kirito, who sighed with relief. "Hey, Bernie, you got a drink for a pretty girl?"

The bartender came over, smiling. "Of course I do," he said, fetching a new glass and pouring liquor into it. "That's for your smile."

"Liar," she said, accepting the drink, "that's for my tits."

In that moment, as she reached for her drink, Kirito noticed something. There was a tattoo on the inside of her wrist, one that was familiar — a black coffin, a smiling mouth…

"Laughing Coffin," Kirito breathed.

The woman's lips curled upward. She took a swig of her drink. "Good work, Kirito," she said, sounding suddenly a lot less tipsy. "You get a prize."

"How did you know that name?" he asked.

"Kirito? I know a lot about you. We've been watching you for quite some time."

Kirito's stiffened. Watching him? "Are you Sylver?"

"I'm not Sylver. Of course I work with Sylver. You can call me Magdalene. It shouldn't be too hard for you to pronounce." She said, smiling like a cat in its cream.

Kirito felt himself growing flustered. Had she known who he was all along? If so, why had she made him search for her? She'd pretended to be drunk, she'd kissed him… She had to have known. Kirito wondered what would happen if he simply walked away, if he went home right now and forgot this had ever happened. He could never tell Asuna, of course. If she ever found out… No, it was too dangerous to leave right now. He didn't know what she knew. This woman — Magdalene.

"Were you a part of the Laughing Coffin guild?" Kirito asked.

"I was, once upon a time," she said.

Kirito flushed, "Then you are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people."

"I know what I'm responsible for, beater," she said coldly. "Which is why I'm doing what I'm doing now. I'm a part of an organization that works to protect the gaming world. Through hacking."

Kirito's heart jumped. This woman was a hacker? She was staring at him with cold blue eyes. He felt nearly naked before the power of her stare.

"We know about you, Kirito. We know about Asuna. We know you moved to New York because you both were accepted into the Computer Science program at Columbia University. We know your grades. We know you're top in your program. We know you're better than anyone else." Magdalene leaned in closer to Kirito, her voice lowering to a whisper. He didn't make a move to stop her. "We know what you do every night, after Asuna goes to sleep. We know you stay up till dawn sometimes, hacking into the servers of different game worlds, changing whatever you see fit. We've been watching you, Kirito. Because we have the same goal."

Kirito was breathing hard. "Who are you?"

She smirked. "We call ourselves Core Group Alpha. It's not a name you would recognize. I can count the outsiders who know about us on one hand, even after adding you."

Core Group Alpha. It was true, he had never heard of them. It was also true that if they knew this much about him, they were powerful. They had ways of finding out things that he didn't, and he wasn't sure if this frightened or intrigued him.

"What do you mean by 'we have the same goal'?"

"Simple," she said, lifting her glass. "Your goal is to keep gamers safe. Our goal is to keep gamers safe. Which is why you are here. The Core Group wants to hire you."

She took a sip of her drink. Kirito was momentarily at a loss for words. A group of hackers he knew nothing about wanted to hire him. They knew everything about him, probably even more than they let on. How big were they? Who was in charge? Was Magdalene their leader, or just some grunt doing fieldwork? Would it be dangerous to walk away from an organization that knew so much about him already?

"I don't usually take a job without knowing who my boss is," he replied carefully.

Magdalene flinched. He thought he saw her scowl. "This isn't that kind of job, in case you haven't noticed. If you want to see who's behind the curtain, you have to join us first."

"You think you know a lot about me," he said, "but I don't know anything about you. How can I trust you? Maybe we don't have the same goals."

She chuckled. "I think we do. Trust me, Kirito. I've seen what you can do. With you on our side, the Core Group can become even more powerful. Together we can ensure that nothing like the death game ever happens in the World Sphere again."

Kirito stared at the coffin on her wrist. He sighed.

"Sorry to have wasted your time," he said, putting a five dollar bill on the bar. He stood. "I work alone."

As he walked away, he heard her start to laugh. He stopped, turning back to her.

"Oh, Kirito, always the loner. He works alone…" she stood, slinking toward him. "He fights alone…" she was an inch away from him. "He hacks alone," she whispered. "Is that right?"

"Keh. I don't need to explain myself to you."

"Oh, but I think you do," she purred, pointing over his shoulder with a long black nail. Kirito turned, and his heart leapt into his throat. A man was standing in a corner across the room from them with a hand on his eyeglass. How long he'd been standing there, Kirito could only guess. It looked as though he'd been watching them for some time. The kiss…

"I really didn't want to have to do this, Kirito," Magdalene said, "but my friend over there recorded the…_special moment_ we shared earlier. By now it's already been uploaded to our servers. I would hate to have to share something like that with Asuna…"

_Asuna…_

Heat rising in his cheeks, Kirito turned back to Magdalene, his fists clenched. There were so many things he wanted to say. He wanted to spew insults at her, to lash out, to rip the sword from his back and…

That was the way things were solved in-game. In the real world, however, he had no such power. In fact, he was clearly the powerless one in this situation. He had been caught in their trap. His shoulders slumped. Magdalene reached out and gave him a pat on the back.

"Welcome to the Core Group, Kirito. You'll receive your next orders from Sylver. Just remember not to disappoint us."

She sauntered away then, leaving Kirito standing in the middle of the bar, music pounding all around him.

After what seemed a long while, he found himself back on the subway, heading for Brooklyn. Staring at the dirty gray floor, he replayed the evening over in his head again and again. He could still taste Magdalene on his lips, and the thought made him sick. He pictured Asuna's face, her tears, her anger. _I promise to always be with you_, he'd said on their wedding day, back in Japan five years ago. _I can never love anyone else but you…_

He had no choice but to work for these people. With the way the video looked, it would be hard to convince Asuna that he hadn't been scoping for women in some bar that night, if it ever came down to it. Kirito never wanted to have to convince her. She was his everything, his foundation. Imagining that foundation shaking…well, he could only hope the Core Group really did have the same goals as he did, because he was with them now, no matter what. The coffin still gave him pause, however. He never thought he'd be putting his trust in a member of a murder guild. Then again, he was being forced into this. He just didn't see a way out.

Williamsburg was quiet as he walked back to his apartment building from the train station. The stars were out, the construction workers had gone home, and people were out walking their dogs. Even the bars were nearly empty. The graffiti-faces on the brick walls watched him silently as he passed by, staring into the dark shops he frequented most mornings: the bagel shop Asuna liked, the pie place where they went to get breakfast on Sundays. After a moment he turned away, unable to keep looking. Guilt knotted in his stomach as he rounded the block toward home, toward the apartment building where they lived together.

When he finally found the keys to let himself in, he stopped in the foyer, getting out the mailbox keys to see if they had any post. He found the box for F13, and opened it. It was empty. Kirito didn't shut it right away. Rather he stood in front of it, his head hanging. Eventually his shoulders began to shake. After a few minutes, he wiped his eyes, shut the mailbox door, and went through the second door that led to the stairs.

The apartment was quiet, just as he'd expected it to be. Asuna had left a light on for him, and after glancing at the oven, he saw it was 8:30. He didn't think he'd been gone that long. Going over to the french doors that led to Asuna's room, he opened them just a crack, and peaked in. Sure enough, she was lying on the bed in her AmuSphere, in-game. She looked peaceful.

Going into his study, Kirito picked his old custom-made NerveGear up off the shelf. It was dented and scratched as ever, though he'd made several new adjustments to it over the years. It was the only FullDive system he trusted — the one he'd built and rebuilt himself. As he was about to put on his NerveGear, he felt his eyeglass vibrate in his pocket. He reached for it, then decided against it. Putting on the NerveGear, he laid down on the little futon he kept in his study, and entered the World Sphere.

When he opened his eyes, he was in New Aincrad, standing in front of the lake house, the last place he'd been. As if watching a dream, he blinked at the firelight flickering on the thin line of beach over by the lake. He spotted Asuna and Yui huddled next to it, roasting marshmallows for s'mores.

Yui was the first to notice him. She tossed her marshmallow stick aside without a thought — Asuna caught it — and ran toward him, shouting, "Daddy!"

Kirito caught her as she leapt into his arms, smiling despite himself as she giggled happily.

"Hey, Yui. How's it going?"

"Mama said you were coming a long time ago. I was waiting for you!" she cried. "We swam in the lake for so long, and I felt a fish touch me."

"A fish? Wow. Why didn't you catch it?"

"We did catch one! Then Mama made dinner and I ate half of it, and then she said we should roast marshmallows…"

As Yui regaled him with their adventures, Kirito saw Asuna get to her feet and walk over to them. His heart sank: her face was unreadable. When she came to stand beside them, Kirito set Yui down, and Asuna handed her the two marshmallows on sticks.

"Yui, can you go put these on graham crackers with chocolate for me and Daddy?"

Yui nodded excitedly, then ran back toward the beach.

Asuna watched Kirito with crossed arms. Kirito waited on tenterhooks for her to say something, but she just watched him with narrowed eyes. Eventually he couldn't take it any longer.

"I'm sorry I was late, Asuna," he said. "I stopped to get food and…I didn't realize I'd take so long getting home."

Asuna tapped her foot on the earth. Eventually though, she let her arms fall to her side, her face softening. "I'm just glad you're home."

Relief coursing through him, Kirito closed the gap between his body and Asuna's, pulling her close against him. She was surprised at first, but after a moment she hugged him back, nuzzling against him.

"Kirito…I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, Asuna," he replied, hugging her close.

When they separated, Yui was calling to them with a big smile on her face. When they got closer, Kirito saw that her hands were sticky with chocolate and marshmallow, though she had managed to make the s'mores. Asuna giggled.

"Here, Daddy," Yui said. "This one's for you."

Kirito accepted the s'more. Some of the chocolate leaked out onto his hand.

"Let's share one, Yui," Asuna said, taking a bite, then passing it back to Yui. Savoring the s'more and the sound of his their giggles, Kirito looked up at the sky, virtual though it was. New Aincrad was a recreation of the world they had inhabited in Sword Art Online, with all the beauty and none of the horror. There were so many stars up there, he thought. Like Asuna had once told him, they might be in a game, but the feelings were all real. The stars felt real. His family was real.

His thoughts flashed back to Magdalene for an instant, but he pushed the image away. Instead, he stood, pointing toward the lake. "Look!"

"Oh, pretty!" Yui cried.

The lake was glowing, a school of bioluminescent fish swimming just under the surface. As Yui oohed and ahed, Kirito opened his user menu, changing into his swimming trunks.

"Kirito, what are you doing?" Asuna said, though she was laughing.

"Who wants to go for a night swim?" he said, hurrying toward the lake.

"Me!" Yui laughed, graham cracker crumbs falling from her lips as her dress transformed into a bathing suit.

Flipping through her menu for her swimsuit, Asuna hurried after them. The sounds of their splashing and laughter filled the air for a long while after, the stars glowing overhead while the fish sparkled all around them. As the night wore on, Kirito realized he didn't want to return. He watched the orange light of their beach fire playing on the water as he swam, trying to forget — if only for a moment — about the other world.

Hours later, back in his room, Kirito slipped off his NerveGear and padded over to Asuna's room. When he opened the door, she invited him into her bed, turning off the light as he curled up next to her. As they lay entwined, Asuna's head pillowed on his shoulder, he found himself wishing that Yui was there too, cuddled up between them, like a real child. He stayed awake a long time, holding her, pressed against her warmth, listening until her breathing slowed. Only then did Kirito ease himself out of her arms, and return to his study.

Sitting down at his desk, he entered a password, his computer screen iridescent in the darkness. Once logged in, he pulled up a console that was already filled with code, most of it written in Japanese. He entered a few more lines. He glanced at the photo propped up on his desk: it was one Klein had taken in-game of Kirito, Asuna, and Yui standing by the lake house soon after they'd bought it. After a minute, he pulled his eyeglass out of his pocket, placing it on his ear. He saw that he had one notification waiting.

It was a message from Sylver.

_Your first assignment is to hack into Atlantis Online's main server. Seek files containing login credentials…_

Kirito's head was spinning. Hack into Atlantis Online's server? Who did they think he was? He checked the time — midnight. He had to be awake by seven. He expected he'd be awake the rest of the night working on this, but what choice did he have?

With one last glance at the picture on his desk, he began typing.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please leave reviews, fave, and follow if you enjoyed this. Story will be updated regularly. ~Saoirse

Follow saoirserobinson on twitter for faster updates.

New Story Title Contest is GO! Just submit your idea for what you think the title of this fanfic should be changed to in the form of a review, tweet or a PM. For tweets, hashtag "storytitlecontest." I will select my favorite, the winner can send me a description of an Original Character they want to be featured in this fanfic, and I will include that OC in the upcoming chapters.


	2. Chapter 2: Black Hat

Story: "Even Heroes Bleed" by Saoirse Robinson

Chapter 2: "Black Hat"

Individual Chapter Rating: T for mild sexual descriptions and language.

Word Count: 4,900

Chapter Description: Kirito is forced to work for the CGA, and slowly begins to understand the consequences.

* * *

Black Hat

A boy with sandy-blond hair took off his shoes in the foyer. Everything was quiet in the house, though he could smell something cooking in the kitchen.

"Gene, is that you? Gene?" A man appeared in the doorway. "Hey, Gene, shout that you're home or something, okay buddy?"

"Sorry, Dad," Gene said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "I'll do it next time."

"Dinner isn't for an hour. Do you want to go outside and play?"

"I've got to go do homework," Gene said, then headed upstairs, his father staring bemusedly after him.

Once upstairs, Gene locked his door behind him. His bedroom was decorated with little murals on the walls, some of alligators, some of Calvin and Hobbes. His bookshelf was filled with things like Percy Jackson and the Magic Tree House series, and there were baseball cards and a gameboy on his nightstand. On his desk, however, was a sleek, unadorned computer, and beside it was an AmuSphere. Going to his desk, he turned on the computer.

"Antean," he whispered.

The whispered word revealed a hidden user icon.

It required a password, then his fingerprint. After that his desktop appeared. He had several notifications waiting, one of them a message containing photos. They were photos of the same person he'd been keeping an eye on, Kazuto Kirigaya, though these looked to have been taken in-game. He was outside a big house next to a lake, with Yuuki Asuna and...a child?

A message bubble popped up. _He is working for Alpha._

Gene's eyes widened.

_Who is the girl? _He asked.

In the photos, the girl-child had no player cursor. A bug perhaps? No, it couldn't be. The child looked ordinary, but after all that he'd learned, he would never assume anything about the legendary Kirito – the game savior, the Black Swordsman – was ordinary.

_We don't know yet. We are still investigating._

_Move faster, _Gene replied.

He examined the photos more closely. The girl and Yuuki smiled in all of them, but Kazuto...

_Time is of the essence._

* * *

"No, please don't," Kirito begged, but Magdalene's arms were all around him, like tentacles, pulling him close in a kiss.

He didn't want to kiss her, he didn't. He was trapped, and someone was standing across the room, recording them. Or...?

"Asuna!" Kirito cried, spying her out of the corner of his eye. He shoved Magdalene away. Asuna had tears in her eyes.

"Kirito, how could you?" she gasped, backing away from him.

"Asuna," he cried, "Asuna, let me explain. I love you..."

"_I hate you_!"

She was running away. Kirito chased after her, but the faster he ran, the further away she got...

Then he woke up.

He awoke with his head on his desk, blinking at the picture of the three of them. A puddle of drool had formed under his mouth.

Sitting up straight, he looked around, realizing that it was morning. Just a dream. He shook himself. His study was messy, as it usually was, crisp packets scattered about, his futon rumpled and unmade. It must've been early: the apartment was quiet, Asuna probably still fast asleep. His computer had fallen asleep during the night too, the screen black. He tried to remember what he'd been working on only hours ago. Entering his password, he brought up the screen again, searching through his code. Whatever he'd been doing last night had worked: a large ACCESS GRANTED screen flashed at him, and there was a file on his desktop that had just finished downloading. He dropped in into the secured folder that linked straight to the Core Group's servers. _Well, that's done, _he thought, not particularly pleased with himself. He yawned.

Opening his internet browser, he decided to check the news. A poor decision. The first big news story that popped up read: _Small User-Owned Gaming World Hacked_. Making sure the volume was turned down low, he let the video report play.

"I'm standing here with Marie Aiswalder, one of many users who have designed custom worlds in what is known as the VRMMORPG World Sphere, popular with all sorts of gamers all over the globe." The reporter was holding a microphone between herself and a distraught-looking young woman. "Marie's gaming world was hacked two weeks ago, and there have been no leads since. Marie, can you tell us how many users your world has?"

"Two hundred and fourteen," Marie said, her voice unsteady. "Or at least it did...all but fifty have deleted their accounts."

Kirito's heart clenched. Two weeks ago...that was the night after he'd met with Magdalene for the first time. He remembered hacking into several worlds that night, at the behest of the CGA. He didn't much like to think about what they wanted with the information.

"Now, your world is called Harbinger of Conquest Online, is that correct?"

Marie nodded, and suddenly Kirito remembered. He felt a pang inside as he watched Marie begin to cry.

"What happened when Harbinger of Conquest Online was hacked?"

Marie took a deep breath, speaking into the mic. "It was me and ten other admins running the whole gaming world, but now none of us can log in. Someone else is administrating the system, making changes...we warned the users. The police can't do anything, they're trying. There's just no trace..."

"So the police have no idea who is behind this?"

"They say," Marie stammered, "they just said it's an unidentifiable hacker group. And there's no way to stop them at this time. Harbinger was my dream, my livelihood. I was able to pay my rent from the funds from two-hundred players, but now..."

The camera flashed back to the reporter. "Some are protesting that this hacker group is hurting small-business gamers, while others are saying that small, user-created worlds are dangerous, and are the most prone to exploitation–"

He couldn't take it anymore. Kirito clicked the red button in the corner, exiting the video.

As he puttered around in the kitchen making tea, Kirito thought about what there was to be done. Nothing was all he could come up with. He'd already spent an entire day and a night trying to hack into the more secure part of the CGA's servers – which was where the video they were using to blackmail him was presumably stored – to no avail. But say he did hack into their servers. How many copies of the video were there? How many places had they stored it? Perhaps on a personal drive, not even connected to the internet. What then? No, there was no way he could risk them using that blackmail against him. He couldn't risk Asuna. He'd never wanted to be the bad guy...but then he never imagined himself being put into a position like this.

Just then, Asuna came out of her room, yawning and stretching. She took one look at Kirito and her brow furrowed.

"What?" he was pouring hot water into tea cups, his hand shaking slightly.

"Kirito, have you been sleeping at all?" she came close to him, taking his head in her hands.

He looked down guiltily, "I...I've had trouble sleeping. Finals are hanging over our heads, and grad school..." Asuna was stroking his face. Looking down, he could see she was wearing only a nightie, and a thin one at that. He felt himself blushing.

"Thanks for making tea," she said, smiling. Leaning in, she kissed him.

Her kiss was gentle, tender, and it flooded him with a warmth that was nearly dizzying. He thought of the dream, and felt relieved that Asuna would never know, would never find out what he had done. He would never willingly betray her trust... He placed a hand on her waist, and another in her hair, remembering the day they'd announced their intent to marry...

"Well, you're eighteen now, and Yuuki's nineteen. It's clear to me how much you love my daughter," Asuna's father had said. "Take good care of her."

"Be sure to give us lots of grandchildren!" Her mother had said.

Kirito's own sister – cousin – had been happy for them. "You two were meant to be together. After all you've been through..."

Asuna was pulling Kirito away from the counter, back toward the bedroom.

"A-Asuna..." Kirito glanced at the clock. "It's almost time to go. We have to catch the L train."

"I don't care," she said, pulling him past the doors to the bedroom, kissing him all the while.

The sun rose higher in the sky as the sheets of their little bed became rumpled. Birds were already chirping outside their window, but they took flight when they heard the noises come from within. As Kirito held Asuna in his arms, sweat beading on his brow, he felt relieved. He was able to forget about his problems when he was close to her, if only for a little while.

After, as the couple lay in bed, it felt to Kirito as though not much time had passed, but when he looked at the clock, he realized that his first class started in ten minutes. "Asuna..."

She was dozing on his chest, wrapped up in their sheets. "Sorry, I fell asleep... Oh no!" She spotted the time as well, leaping to her feet. She searched around for her clothes, throwing them on, and Kirito smiled despite himself. When she caught him grinning, she scowled at him. "Find my hairbrush. Please!"

Eventually they arrived in the Upper West Side, through Kirito was so late he decided it would be better to go straight to his second class. Standing in the midst of the huge sandstone buildings, he gave Asuna a kiss goodbye, then watched her head off in the direction of the lab where she did her internship. As soon as she was out of sight, Kirito checked his eyeglass for notifications. Sure enough, there was one pending from Sylver.

_New task. Copy all admin data from Tygris Serum Online by 6 a.m. tomorrow._

Kirito's heart sank. Another small-world hack? He'd never even heard of Tygris Serum Online. He was beginning to grow disturbed by the CGA's interest in user-created worlds. These made up the bulk of the World Sphere, after all. Why weren't they sending him after the big corporations? That's what Kirito used to do, before the CGA had found him: attempt to hack into the corporation-created worlds, to find and repair loopholes the administrators may have built into the world for the company's benefit. It was all about preventing the next death game...wasn't it? He was beginning to realize that, well... no, it wasn't. At least not for the CGA. They had some other motive...

Which was none of his concern, as long as they had blackmail. Sighing, he slouched off to class, lamenting over the hot green tea sitting untouched on his kitchen counter back home.

Later that night, after eating dinner and spending some time in-game with Asuna and Yui, Kirito actually slept. Curled up against Asuna in their shared futon, his expression was peaceful...until he felt his eyeglass vibrating in the pocket of his pajamas. Fetching it, he remembered he had purposefully set an alarm for midnight. Easing himself away from Asuna, he tiptoed out of the room and over to his study, where he logged onto his computer like he did every night.

_Hack into Tygris Serum Online...obtain admin files..._

Opening the console, Kirito began entering code. Over the course of an hour, his screen flashed red several times: Access Denied. He tried again, entering line after line of code, filling page after page. Access Denied. An hour past, then two. Access Denied. This was a tough server, but he'd faced tougher before...

_It's the hype, _he realized, after two more hours of fruitless attempts. _The hacks have been all over the news, and any world-builder with half a brain has doubled their defenses against hackers._ Kirito experienced a brief moment of angst when he realized that they might actually be fishing for people who were trying to break in – trying to discover his identity. No, that wasn't possible. He was safe. His own defenses were impenetrable, he had made sure of that. No one could trace him. No one could hack him, not his desktop, not his eyeglass, not even his NerveGear. He'd spent years making sure of that. It didn't matter how good this gamemaster was: he was better.

Reassured, he plowed onward, thinking all the while of the video, the way they'd framed him, the way they were blackmailing him. It was the only thing keeping him going. Yet he kept seeing the same screen: Access Denied. Whoever had built Tygris Serum Online was a pro, and knew how to encrypt, protect, and hide important files. Kirito started to sweat around 4:30 a.m. What could he do?

5:00 a.m., another Access Denied screen. He pressed on. There was no way he could fail. What if he did? He didn't want to think about that. 5:15 a.m... Tygris' backend was labyrinthine. It was finally around 5:30 a.m. that Kirito slumped back in his chair, starving, thirsty, and resigned to the truth: he could not break in.

His eyeglass beeped quietly. Opening the one eye, he saw a notification from Sylver.

_Progress?_

Kirito sighed. _Unable to break in,_ he whispered. His message appeared as text on the screen, and after a minute it appeared as received.

_Unacceptable_, was the response. _Keep trying._

_Give me more time. I need until tomorrow morning, _Kirito messaged.

_Tonight. You have until 6 p.m. If you fail we send your video to Asuna._

After that last message, Kirito took off his eyeglass, set it on the desk, and let his head fall into his hands. He stayed that way until the sun rose outside his window, the Access Denied screen shining black and red in front of him.

Asuna caught onto his mood while they were swaying on the train together. "Is everything okay?"

The sound of her voice made him start, "I'm okay. I'm just tired. I have an exam coming up on Friday."

Asuna rubbed his arm. "I made you a pork sandwich." She dangled the bag in front of him, "it's your favorite recipe."

She was smiling, offering a wrapped lunchbox to him as she rested her head on his shoulder. How much longer could this last? _Asuna, would you still do this for me if you knew what I've done? Would you still love me?_

When they arrived on the Upper West Side, Kirito walked Asuna to the building where she had her first class. She gave him a kiss, eying him with concern before she entered the building. "You should go take a nap in the library," she said.

"I'll try."

He waved at her as she disappeared. The moment she was out of sight, he strode back the way they had come: back toward the train station.

Once back in Brooklyn, Kirito ran through the streets, heading back to the heart of Williamsburg. He fumbled with the keys to get back into their apartment, and once upstairs, he went to his study. He was breathing hard. He had an idea – a crazy idea to be sure, but it was his only chance. Laying down on his futon, he slipped on his NerveGear and took the dive...

Rather than entering New Aincrad, however, Kirito flipped through the world catalog, searching for Tygris Serum Online.

_There. _Selecting a random avatar and an alternate player name, he logged in.

When he came too, he was in a Town of Beginnings. Tygris Serum Online looked to be some kind of sailing game. This was a port town, and all the characters seemed to be dressed up as pirates. He could see the sea in the distance, and there were several stalls where players were purchasing pirate-like wares. As he looked around, Yui flew out from his pocket in navigation-pixie form, as she often did when he switched worlds.

"Daddy!" she shouted, flying toward him. Then her face fell. "Where's Mama?"

"She'll come visit later," he said, then lowered his voice. "Yui, I need your help."

Hovering next to him, Yui saluted him adorably. "Aye-aye, captain!"

Kirito smiled despite himself. "Yui..."

"What is it?"

Kirito sighed, "Before I tell you, you have to promise me to keep this a secret from your...from your Mama."

Yui looked confused, "Why?"

_How can I explain this? _"It's complicated, Yui. But I need to do this for all of us."

"Okay," Yui agreed, though she still seemed confused. "What do you need me to help with?"

Kirito took a deep breath. "I need your help locating a GM console in this world."

Yui's brow furrowed. "I think I can help." She closed her eyes. "I'm detecting thirty different islands. It will take me a minute to scan them."

Yui glowed softly as she performed the search. After a minute, she opened her eyes.

"We'll have to teleport. Let me take you there, Daddy." Reaching out, Yui placed a tiny hand on his nose, and they disappeared together in a wash of blue light.

When they reappeared, they were in a jungle-like environment. Kirito pulled up his map. They were on a large island, and when he looked around, he didn't see other monsters or players around.

"The monsters here are high-level," Yui said, "but I've executed a command that will make us invisible to them unless we attack first."

"Thanks, Yui," he said. "Now, do you know where the GM console is?"

"That way," she pointed. "Follow me." She flew off. Kirito followed at a run behind her.

Sure enough, they passed plenty of monsters, though none of them noticed as Kirito and Yui went by. It seemed they were also sufficiently high-level to act as a deterrent against players coming to this island, because he didn't see anyone else around. They went for a while, but eventually Yui stopped in front of what appeared to be a tree covered in vines. When she touched it, a black cube appeared, protruding from the trunk. Looking down, Kirito could see a keypad on it. He placed his fingers on it, and a screen appeared in midair. He began entering code, but he quickly got the same screen as before: Access Denied.

"Yui," Kirito said, thinking fast, "you still have the code from that ALfheim admin card in your system, don't you?" _I know she does, I saved it there myself._

Yui nodded, "Here, let me." She flew down to the cube, and when she landed, it began to glow.

The screen flashed green. Kirito's heart leapt when he saw it: Access Granted.

He began typing quickly now, entering line after line of commands. Even as he did this, however, he thought about how much energy the game master had spent designing this world. Exotic birds cawed around him, and he could hear the rush of waves in the distance. This world was crafted with love. Why did the CGA want it? Would they do what they'd done to Harbinger of Conquest? Was it right to allow all this to happen, just so he could keep Asuna from seeing that video? He'd already gone to so much effort to hide it, at this point he looked more guilty than ever. Still, a part of him was clamoring for him to stop, to show Asuna the video, and damn the consequences. How could he just stand by while the CGA did this? Worse, he was a part of it...

Kirito was sweating as he coded, despite the fact that he still had several hours to send the files to the Core Group. Things were going swiftly now. He got a few more Access Denied warnings, but it seemed that Yui had somehow bypassed most of the blockades he'd been running up against before. His fingers moved in a blur, the screen filling up with green letters and numbers.

"Get ready Yui," he said. "When I say so, capture these files and save them to my NerveGear."

"Got it!"

Another five minutes..four...he was getting closer. The virtual jungle wasn't even really hot, and he was sweating. Finally the screen flashed it's message one final time: Access Granted. Splitting the files off as game items, they flew out of the console, sparkling like gems. Yui caught them in her arms, glowing as she saved them to his NerveGear. When she was done, the items had disappeared.

Kirito let out a whoop, "We did it! We did it, Yui!"

Yui was clapping, flying around in circling and giggling. Kirito was happy...or was he? Inwardly, he felt bad about what he had used her to do. What he had done...

"Yui," he said, "What we did just now...I only did it because I had to. I did it to protect us."

"I know, Daddy," Yui smiled, her wings fluttering. "I know you're good."

Kirito flushed. He patted her head. Despite her childlike reassurances, he felt guilty. He had been her father for years now, and had come to realize that Yui was so much more than a computer program. She was capable of things he still didn't understand, even after all he'd learned. Although she existed only in the local memory of his NerveGear and Asuna's AmuSphere, she was also his daughter. He couldn't explain it. And this was the first time he could ever remember feeling like he was a bad parent.

A little while later, Kirito awoke on his futon, staring up at the ceiling. He rolled over, taking off his NerveGear, and went to connect it to his computer. As soon as he did, the download started. After a while he could see all the files he'd stolen, every last one. He sighed. Dropping the files into the secure folder, he leaned back in his chair, telling himself that he was just lucky he'd completed the task in time.

After he ate the pork sandwich Asuna had made him, he realized he still had several hours until Asuna would arrive home, and he didn't feel like going all the way back to campus. Perhaps he'd go have a drink, maybe pick up some things for dinner. He could have it all prepared by the time Asuna got home. Struck with renewed inspiration, he searched through the house for their grocery totes, then headed off to the local grocery, humming to himself.

When Asuna finally came home the sun was setting, and the kitchen was filled with fragrant steam. Although she was clearly tired, she perked up when she realized what Kirito had done.

"Oh, my...you made dinner?" she seemed beside herself. "I didn't think you'd be home in time."

Kirito laughed, "I left early to make this for you." He dipped a spoon into the broth, then brought it up to her nose.

"Oden!" Asuna cried. "Oh, you _are_ the best husband in the world!"

Kirito blushed, the praise making his heart swell. But as he ladled the Oden out into dishes, a nagging voice reminded him that she didn't know the whole story. She didn't even know _him_ anymore. He'd started hacking before they were married, before they'd even met, but his obsession with stopping power-hungry game masters had only increased after the death game. She didn't know what he did after she went to sleep, after he slipped out of bed. She never had. And now, since becoming involved with the CGA, he'd become someone else entirely. _She wouldn't love that person_, Kirito thought. _She wouldn't love me if she knew._

He kept a smile on his face, though, as they finished their dinner and talked about school, exams, and their friends from the World Sphere. When they finally took the dishes over to the sink, they washed them together, Asuna smiling to herself. After they were done, the dishes drying on the mat, She took him by the hand, leading him back to their bedroom.

Leading him over to the futon, she helped him off with his shirt, then took off her own. They kissed. The kisses lasted for a long while, until they were pulling at each other's jeans, trying to get them off. Naked, they pulled the sheets over them, and for a while afterward the room was filled with the sounds of lips on skin, and the occasional gasp of joy. The sky outside grew dark. Eventually, Kirito reached toward the nightside, opening the drawer to grab a condom. He was surprised, however, when Asuna's hand shot out to stop him.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Do you not want...?"

"I want it," she whispered. "Just...don't use protection."

Kirito stared at her. _Don't use...?_

"I-I have to use a condom..." he stammered. "You could get pregnant."

Asuna's face darkened. Rolling away from him, she curled up on the opposite side of the bed, leaving Kirito crouched with one hand in the drawer, confused.

He drew closer to her, but she didn't look at him. "Asuna..."

He was about to reach out a hand to comfort her when he realized she was crying.

"Asuna," he came up behind her, putting his arms around her. "What's wrong? Tell me."

"I don't know what I'm thinking," she sobbed. "I'm an awful person."

Kirito's heart squeezed painfully. What was causing her so much pain? "You're not. Asuna, please, tell me what's going on."

"I _am _awful. Because we already have a child. What would we do if...if...what would we tell Yui?"

It suddenly struck him what she was talking about. "Asuna..."

She turned to him, "Don't you ever wonder, Kirito? What it would be like to have a...a child in this world?" Tears were shining in her eyes. "Is it bad to wonder?"

Kirito felt what she wasn't saying. What would it be like to have a real child? But he knew, they both knew, Yui was real. She was just confined to one side...

Kirito hugged her tightly. "I don't think it's bad. I wonder sometimes too. Sometimes I wish Yui were here, with us. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a child here in this world."

Asuna sniffed. "Why does it have to be so difficult? I feel like every day we're choosing...choosing whether to live in this world or that one, and we can never bring ourselves to do it."

Kirito closed his eyes, sharing her pain. Everything she said was true. If he were honest with himself, he didn't know which world he belonged to. Why _was_ it so difficult? "I don't know, Asuna."

They stayed like that for a long time, huddled naked under the sheets, wrapped in each other's arms. It was late when Kirito awoke, realizing he had dozed off. Asuna stirred when he did, blinking in the lamplight.

"I've got to finish my homework. I have stuff due tomorrow," she mumbled.

As they got up and dressed, Kirito looked at the time. "I know it's late, but...should we go see Yui later?"

Asuna thought for a moment, then nodded.

It was almost two o'clock in the morning when they finally returned from New Aincrad. Kirito was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth when he felt his eyeglass vibrate in his pocket.

_We have received the files, _Sylver wrote._ You will meet me tomorrow, in person, in the back room of the Azure Kitty Parlor at 2 p.m. If you do not comply, we will show the video footage to Asuna._

Kirito stared at the message in his eyeglass. Shifting his focus, he could see his expression in the bathroom mirror. He looked like a ghost.

Hadn't he done everything they asked? Retrieved the files? Handed them control of yet another user-created world? Now he was being summoned, and in-person meeting, as if he'd done something wrong. What did they want from him? Kirito didn't know what to think anymore. When he was done in the bathroom, he crept into Asuna's bed and curled up next to her, like always, but despite how tired he was, he found he could not sleep. Getting up once more, he retired to his study, turning on his computer and flipping through the news outlets. He stayed like that until dawn, then went to the window to watch the sun come up.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate your feedback and knowing what you think in the form of a review. I also appreciate faves. Follow the story if you want to read more. It will be updated regularly. I'm planning for it to have 50,000+ words by the end. ~Saoirse

Follow saoirserobinson on twitter for faster updates.

New Story Title Contest is GO! Just submit your idea for what you think the title of this fanfic should be changed to in the form of a review, tweet or a PM. For tweets, hashtag "storytitlecontest." I will select my favorite, the winner can send me a description of an Original Character they want to be featured in this fanfic, and I will include that OC in the upcoming chapters.


	3. Chapter 3: Trace

Story: "Even Heroes Bleed" by Saoirse Robinson

Chapter 3: "Trace"

Word Count: 4,900

Individual Chapter Rating: T for mild sexual descriptions and language

Chapter Description: Kirito gets pulled deeper down the rabbit hole. What will he have to sacrifice to keep Asuna in the dark?

* * *

Trace

The next day, Kirito found himself standing in cloud of cigar smoke, looking up at a big neon-pink sign that read "Azure Kitty Parlor." _What have I gotten myself into? _He thought, trying to avoid looking at the posters of scantily-clad women that ringed the exterior of the building. Pushing past the red pleather doors, he hurried inside.

The music, the lights, and the smells were all disorienting. Everywhere silhouettes of bodies moves, undulated, swayed. There were several brightly lit stages scattered about, topped with naked or nearly-naked women dancing on poles. Kirito wanted to look away, but he knew he had to find the person he was supposed to meet: Sylver.

He was spared the trouble, however, when a familiar faces separated from the shadows, approaching. Magdalene.

"Hey there, cutie-pie," she said. Kirito flushed. "Let me guess, you're looking for Sylver?"

He nodded. The music was almost too loud to hear.

"Follow me," she said, turning on a heel.

As he strode beside her, weaving between people, he leaned in toward her ear. "Why does Sylver want to meet me?"

"How should I know?" she shouted back.

"I did everything he asked," Kirito said.

"Tell it to someone who cares," she said, sauntering on ahead of him.

Magdalene eventually led him into a private room – private in that it was hidden by slightly translucent curtains on all sides. The lights and silhouettes of the dancers without were still visible. It was slightly quieter in here, perhaps quiet enough to have a conversation. Kirito immediately noticed a man sitting on a couch, surrounded by women who appeared to be dancers at the Parlor. One was currently sitting on his lap, although it looked as though she were slipping off of it.

"Ah, Kirito," the man said, nearly shoving the dancer off of him. His face was in shadow, although Kirito could see he wore a red necktie. He could also see the eyeglass he wore. He gestured for Kirito to sit on the couch across from him. Magdalene sat down next to Kirito. He scooted slightly away from her.

"We've spoken before, Kirito," the man said. "I'm Sylver."

Kirito said nothing. What was there to say? He was wondering why they'd brought him here: perhaps another attempt to gather blackmail? Wasn't one incriminating video enough for these people?

"I'm sure you're wondering why you are here, Kirito," Sylver said. He made a shoeing motion, and the girls surrounding him grabbed there drinks and moved off to a corner. Sylver leaned forward. "I admit, I have my own curiosities. You'll know, of course, that the reason we hired you is that you are unusually gifted."

"I think 'hired' is a bit of an understatement," Kirito said.

Magdalene smirked beside him, but Sylver appeared to ignore the jab. Kirito stared into Sylver's shadowed face, but all he could see were the neon lights dancing in his eyeglass.

"Well, Kirito, you've been very compliant. The truth is, we've been pleased with your success. It's helped us a great deal. The reason we've called you here today is not because we are displeased. On the contrary. We are...intrigued. We knew that you are a gifted hacker, but this last break in you did...I'll admit, I had no idea you had those kind of tricks up your sleeve."

In the silence, dread began to curl in Kirito's stomach. This last break in... He had used Yui to help him break into Tygris. Was that what they were talking about?

"Come now, Kirito. Don't be shy," Sylver said. "Personally, I wouldn't have noticed anything was different. But some of our higher-ups looked more closely at your hack. They asked me to find out a little more about your _unique abilities_."

Kirito's heart was pounding. He had never imagined they'd begin asking about Yui. "I don't know what you're talking about. My last hack was the same as all the others."

Sylver chuckled. The sound was ominous, coming from the shadows. "Just like all the others? You do remember that we have video of you and our sweet little Magdalene here, don't you? Perhaps I should sweeten the deal." With a snap of his fingers, Sylver brought the dancers back from their corner. He sent them over to Kirito, and in an instant, Kirito was crawling with limbs, one of the dancers even going so far as to grind against his lap. His cheeks felt hot – he couldn't help his reaction, and Sylver knew it. Kirito ground his teeth together. _Yui..._

"In case telling your wife you kissed another woman wasn't incentive enough for you. What would she think if she saw you at a strip club?" Kirito saw him tap his eyeglass. He was making a video...

Kirito had seen this coming, yet the fear still punched him full in the gut. Grimacing, he shoved the dancers away. "I'll tell you. Just get these girls away from me."

The girls backed off slightly, offended. Sylver shoed them away again. "It's alright, ladies. Leave him be. Go on, Kirito."

Kirito was fuming. They had him backed into a corner. "I...in the World Sphere, I know a game entity. She's my ally. She used to be an admin in Sword Art Online. Asuna and I met her during the death game."

Both Sylver and Magdalene were staring at him hungrily. Kirito got the distinct feeling that he was doing something very, very bad.

"I see," Sylver said. "Go on."

_I can't tell them she's my daughter. _"That's really it. She has access to things that normal players don't. If I hadn't met her back in the death game...I'd be dead right now."

"How did you find her?"

"We didn't," Kirito said. His voice was tinged with wonder. "She found us."

Sylver stayed silent for a while, contemplating. "I see," he muttered eventually. Then, "I want you to make a copy of this game entity for us."

_A copy?_ Kirito stared at him, horrified. _A copy of my daughter? _The thought of what they would do to her, what they would use her for, made Kirito clench his fists. No, he couldn't. But then...Asuna. If she saw video footage of Kirito kissing another woman, footage of him in a strip club...would she trust him? Would she believe it when he told her he'd been framed?

"It would be foolish to try to disobey, Kirito," Magdalene whispered.

His heart sank. Whatever they did to Yui...hadn't he already done it? Used her to his own ends? It would only be a copy. Perhaps he could erase the copy's memories.

"You have until midnight tomorrow," Sylver said. "And I'm being generous."

Later, on the subway, Kirito sat in a daze, hardly even paying attention to the stops that passed by. What had he done? What had he gotten himself into? A news report was playing on the subway television screen, highlighting yet another hack. He was sure it was one he did. He'd tried to deny it, but he couldn't anymore. He'd become one of the bad guys. Without fully realizing it, he'd become everything he despised about hackers. This was why he'd always hacked alone. In the past.

He thought about Asuna, wanting a child. What if he stopped hacking? What if they stopped gaming? What if they left the World Sphere forever? A part of Kirito wanted this more than he could explain: living the divided life was hard. He was so many things, he didn't even know what he was anymore. Hacker, student, husband, father, swordsman, cheater, beater... Wouldn't it be simpler to just be a regular college student? I regular husband? With a regular family that existed only in one world?

The thought of leaving Yui though...if he was honest with himself, the feeling was no different than how he imaged leaving a real child felt. He knew, logically, that she was a computer program. But she was their daughter_. _Anyone but Asuna would think he was crazy. Anyone who hadn't played the death game. The death game had changed everything. He thought back: He'd been a father to her since he was fifteen. The thought amazed him: he'd been a father for almost ten years. Thinking about never seeing her again...hurt.

If he and Asuna had never escaped Sword Art Online, would their love have been real? Yes. In the same way, their relationship with Yui was real. He had even contemplated transferring her consciousness to some type of android, but...he knew that would never be the same. Especially if they had another child.

And now he was going to make a copy of her and give it to the CGA. What had he gotten himself into?

When he arrived in Brooklyn, Kirito walked through the streets slowly, listening to the familiar-yet-unfamiliar sounds. Four years ago, English was a foreign language to him. If he let his mind wander, the English being spoken all around him started to sound foreign again – unintelligible background noise. He trudged past coffee shops and bakeries, taking as long as he dared. He dreaded making a copy of Yui. He dreaded having yet another thing to hide from Asuna.

When arrived back in his apartment, he looked all around at makings of his life with Asuna. Was he selfish to want to hold onto that? Yes. At the expense of so many small-world gamemakers...

Kirito's ears perked up. Although it was only three o'clock, he heard sounds coming from Asuna's room. Then he realized it was the sound of crying.

Rushing inside, he took in the scene: Asuna was huddled on the futon, her head in her hands, sobbing. Her AmuSphere was on the bed in from of her, and Kirito saw his own NerveGear laying on the floor. What was going on?

"Asuna," he went to her, "Asuna, what's going on? Is everything okay."

She shook her head frantically, choking on her tears. "Yui...Yui-chan..."

"What is it?" Kirito's heart was beating frantically, fear swelling in his chest. "What about Yui?"

"She's _gone,_" Asuna cried. "I went in. I used my AmuSphere. I tried your NerveGear. Nothing. She's gone!"

Kirito couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was if the world had stopped spinning. Yui, gone? Yui was saved to his NerveGear's local memory. The AmuSphere's too. Without saying anything, Kirito ran into his study, opening his computer. He searched his backup drive.

_Please, please, please..._

There was nothing. No trace of her.

_How?_

Going back to Asuna's room, Kirito stood in the doorway, watching Asuna sob on the bed, at a loss. Who would do this? The CGA? Why would they have gone to the trouble of meeting him and asking him to make a copy if they were just going to hack him? And what's more, how had someone hacked his NerveGear? And his backup drive? He'd encrypted them with everything he had...

"Who would do this?" Asuna said, the same question Kirito was asking himself. "I don't understand. Yui..."

It would've been one thing if someone had broken into their apartment, but there were no signs. No, someone had hacked him remotely, and the only culprit that came to mind was the CGA. If so, he couldn't just come out and accuse them. Perhaps this was part of some elaborate plan of theirs to make him do what they wanted. No matter who the culprit was, however, it was all his fault...

"K-Kirito?" Asuna said, wiping her eyes.

Kirito had fallen to his knees. "This is my fault."

Confusion clouded Asuna's expression, "Kirito..."

"I should've known something like this would happen..." he whispered, tearing falling from his eyes and onto the wood floor.

Sliding off the futon, Asuna crawled over to his side, and put an arm around him. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known."

Kirito couldn't bring himself to tell her as she hugged him. It _was _his fault. All his fault. If he hadn't become a hacker, if he hadn't been noticed, he never would've attracted the attention of the CGA. He never would have become the target of blackmail. All those small-world game masters would still be in charge of their worlds, as they should've been...

He and Asuna stayed like that for a long time, just curled up on the floor, crying into each others arms. When it grew dark out, they moved to the bed. Eventually Asuna fell into a fitful sleep, while Kirito lay awake.

The next day, Kirito had taken the train into Manhattan as he did every morning, he and Asuna sharing a bench on the train in silence, neither of them daring to look at one another, just holding hands and trying not to cry. After taking an exam – which he feared he failed – Kirito took the train back home, unable to bear sitting through any more classes. He messaged Asuna, but she stayed on campus. _I need to distract myself, _she said. And so it was that Kirito found himself sitting in his study, alone, browsing the web and counting down the hours until Asuna would receive copies of the videos the CGA had been blackmailing him with.

He'd come to the conclusion that there was no way to trace who had hacked him, and no real way to find Yui. She was just...gone. He'd thought it couldn't be done, which was perhaps why he felt so much like a sitting duck. Yui was gone, and there was no way to get her back.

He was searching aimlessly through the news outlets when he came across an article covering the recent hacks of small game worlds – the ones he'd done. Nobody had any leads, although there was a lot of speculation surrounding Infinity Unlimited, a billion-dollar corporation that owned many of the larger gaming worlds. Apparently there had been a sharp spike in their number of users since the hacks began. People were starting to grow suspicious of them, but when Kirito looked, he saw that the membership numbers in several other worlds had increased as well.

Was it possible that he'd been hacking for a corporation all along? Magdalene had said they shared the same goals, but then she'd said that right before she threatened him with blackmail. The thought that he'd been hacking into small gaming worlds for a big corporation... Kirito's jaw clenched.

He could see only a few options left to him. Tell Asuna about the blackmail, was one. Once he'd done that, he would accuse the CGA of hacking him. A second option was: he could wait for the CGA to show Asuna the blackmail when he didn't deliver the copy of Yui at the promised hour. Waiting to see what they would do might actually give him a hint as to whether they had Yui or not. Stealing Yui's code when Kirito was already in the process of copying her for them just didn't make any sense to him. Then again, the CGA tended to use extreme methods to get what they wanted. Perhaps they'd been afraid he would alter her code. Maybe they wanted to send a message. Maybe they wanted Yui's power all for themselves.

Maybe someone else had stolen Yui.

As if on cue, a notification came through on his eyeglass.

_Your daughter is quite feisty, for a program._

Kirito stared at the message, his heart skipping a beat. It wasn't from Sylver, or any number he recognized. In fact, the sender had hidden their number, listing it as unknown. Acting quickly, Kirito linked his eyeglass up with his console, about to try to trace them...

_Don't bother._

Kirito froze as the message came through. What the...?

_I am not going to try to hide from you. True, the plan was not to contact you this soon, but the program known as Yui is proving more difficult to control than we thought. We need you to meet us in the game-world Dragon Realm Online, which is where we have brought the program called Yui._

Kirito was on his feet, shaking with anger. Yui...

_You will find us in The Abandoned Castle outside Lorimer Gate._

Refusing to waste even a moment, Kirito shoved on his NerveGear and laid down in bed. The real world disappeared.

He had been to Dragon Realm Online once before, so when he selected the game-world, the avatar he had made previously appeared. Logging in, the screen went white. In moments, he was materializing in this game's town of beginnings, know as Lornbach.

As soon as he materialized, a shadow passed over him. Looking up, he realized it was a dragon.

The town of beginnings was a boisterous place, filled with market stalls and crowded with beginners looking for quests, upgrading their armor, or just looking for people to party up with. The thing that really stood out about this world, however, were the dragons. The streets were huge, so large dragons were free to wander the town just like the players. Even as he watched, a huge black-and-green dragon waddled down the street, players avoiding its swinging tail. He even spotted some dragon-sized buildings in the distance. This was truly the beginner town of Dragon Realm Online: stalls selling huge slabs of meat, dragon-sized armor, and worn dragon-saddles studded the cityscape. Kirito didn't even know where to start.

"You look lost."

Starting, Kirito looked around. Where had that voice come from? Then he looked down. A small boy with blue hair and a tiny blue dragon was grinning up at him. The dragon made a cooing noise from its perch on his shoulder.

"Uh..." Kirito didn't know what to say.

"I'm Bastian," said the boy, offering his hand. He gave Kirito's hand a firm shake. "This is Gizzard. He's cute, isn't he?"

Kirito started as Gizzard, who appeared to be blushing slightly.

"I'm Kirito," he said awkwardly. "Listen, I'm knew here, but I need to find–"

"_Kirito_?" the boy shouted. "No _way!_"

Bastian circled him, looking him up and down, and Gizzard flew in a curious circle around his head. Eventually Gizzard landed on his crown, his tail dangling in front of Kirito's eyes.

"Are you sure you're Kirito?" Bastian said skeptically. "What level are you?"

"Listen," Kirito grumbled, setting Gizzard back on Bastian's shoulder, "I need to find the Abandoned Castle."

"Why would you need to find the abandoned castle?" he sounded confused.

"It's complicated," Kirito said. "I need to find my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Bastian blinked at him. "Is this quest or something?"

"No, it's..._Tsch!_ It's complicated, okay?" Kirito was growing frustrated. "Just tell me how to get there, or give me a map, or something."

"You won't be able to get there. Not without a dragon."

Kirito's heart sank. They didn't tell him he'd need a _dragon _to get to them. Now what?

Bastian was tapping his foot impatiently. "Um, yoohoo! Guess what?"

"What?" Kirito grumbled.

"I have a dragon," he point at Gizzard, who smiled proudly, releasing a little steam from his nostrils.

"Um. No offense kid. But I don't think that's any help."

Bastian chuckled, "That's what you think. But did you know that Gizzard here is a transforming dragon? He only stays this size when I want him to. That's how I sneak up on people."

Transforming dragon? Did that mean...

"Okay, Gizzard!" Bastian shouted. Gizzard leapt, the air around him blasting outward, buffeting Kirito so fiercely he had to shield his eyes. In a burst of light, Gizzard transformed from a winged-lizard into a huge blue-and-yellow beast with the wingspan of a small aircraft, the length of his tail making nearby players run for cover. Kirito stared up at the dragon, at a loss for words. He knew it was a game, but the dragon looked so real. _Felt _so real. Kirito could even feel the heat coming from the dragon's body. Or maybe he was just imagining it...

"Good boy, Gizzard!" Bastian shouted. "Climb on, it's okay. You may not have the skill level to ride yet, but you can be a passenger." Bastian leapt up onto Gizzard's shoulders easily, equipping a double-saddle from his items. Crawling up the dragon uncertainly, he avoided looking the creature in the eye as he scaled his haunches, eventually making it up to the saddle. He got behind Bastian, and settled his feet into the bootstraps.

"Gizzard, take us to the Abandoned Castle," Bastian shouted. The dragon didn't waste a minute. In a second, he was off. "Woohoo!"

The dragon shot straight up in the air, so fast that Kirito had to grab a hold of Bastian's belt, the only thing readily available to him in that position. Tears streaming from his eyes, he watched Lornbach disappear far below as they rose higher and higher, Bastian whooping all the while.

"Hey, watch it, my pants are falling down!" Bastian cried as Kirito gripped his belt tighter.

"I can't help it! There's nothing else to hold on to!"

Kirito thought he felt Gizzard chuckle.

Finally they leveled out, Gizzard flying straight ahead through a huge expanse of clouds that swirled around them. Kirito looked down: they were _high_. Everything was green, and he thought he could see a waterfall spilling off a cliff far below.

"There are no teleport crystals in this world," Bastian said loudly, compensating for the wind. "You have to take a dragon everywhere. If you don't have a dragon, you're screwed. Everything in this game requires a dragon."

Kirito looked around. Sure enough, he spotted other dragons flying below and above them, even off in the distance. The healthbars of the players riding them flashed green, although he spotted the occasional yellow when they passed a battle between riders. It appeared that rider battles were part of the game as well: fighting in midair on dragonback, much like the air-fights in ALfheim Online. Once he even saw a burst of flame in the distance.

"Not all dragons have fire," Bastian offered. "Gizzard here does though. We got lucky. Not everyone gets the opportunity to do the fire quest."

Any other time, Kirito would have been curious, but at the moment, his only concern was Yui.

"How far away is the Abandoned Castle?"

Bastian swiped up, holding onto his dragon with one hand – this made Kirito flinch – and opened his user manual. He went to his map. After a minute he said, "It won't be long. Travel by air is pretty fast, and the Abandoned Castle isn't far from Lornbach. Although no one goes there."

"Why?"

"Well, let's just say a certain guild has claimed the Abandoned Castle as their territory. They're not a murder guild per se. They are really powerful, and they love to pick fights."

"Who are they?"

"They call themselves _Angelus Shogunate_."

Kirito contemplated this as the wind whipped his hair. Were they the ones who'd kidnapped Yui?

"Wait a minute," Bastian said, "Angelus Shogunate aren't the ones who kidnapped your daughter, are they?"

"I don't know."

"Well, they better not be! You're a complete noob! What are you, level two? Three?"

"It doesn't matter," Kirito said. "I know what I'm doing. Once you drop me off, you can leave."

"No way, buddy. I'm not leaving you alone with a top guild," he said. "Isn't that right, Gizzard? We don't do that."

Gizzard gave a rumble of what Kirito could only assume was agreement.

Although Bastian had said it wasn't a long journey, it felt long to Kirito as they soared through the sky, going higher and higher, it seemed. Eventually though, he felt them descending. That was when he saw it: in the distance, far below, there was an enormous castle, or the ruin of one. His stomach dropped when he noticed gysers of flame shooting up into the air in the vicinity of one of the gates that looked to be on the west side.

"That's where you're headed, right?" Bastian asked.

"Yes."

Bastian rolled his eyes. "You're crazy." Urging Gizzard lower, they dove toward the castle ruins, closing in on the fiery gate.

The closer they got, the more Kirito could see. A whole group of dragons appeared, accompanied by what Kirito could only assume were several dozen players. He couldn't see them – they were still too far – but he could see all their healthbars shining yellow and red in the distance. The dragons, however, were all in the green. Where was Yui in all this? He wished Gizzard would hurry, though he had a feeling he was flying as fast as he could.

When Gizzard finally made it over the castle, he let out a roar that seemed to shake the earth below. The other dragons responded in kind, and Gizzard let out a puff of flame as he circled. That's when Kirito really got a clear view of what was going on.

All around the gate, the players and dragons were arrayed, primarily on the defensive as the floating purple orb they'd encircled through shots at them, one after another. The players seemed to be keeping back, letting their dragons do the work, now that most of the players were in the red. As they watched, one dragon let out a burst of flame, but it just rushed around the smooths sides of the purple orb like water. Then, in a flash, the orb disappeared, replaced by a diminutive girl in a white dress, carrying a flaming sword that was five times her size.

She swung the sword about, making a circle. The fire that escaped from it was white-hot. It surged toward the dragon who had just attacked, enveloping it like a tidal wave. Kirito watched in amazement as the dragon's healthbar dropped from green to red. Next thing he knew, he was watching it dissolve in a blaze of shattering light. The player that had tamed the dragon cried out in rage.

"Is _that _your daughter?" Bastian said in awe.

Kirito watched as she retreated back into her orb, and the other dragons backed away a few steps. "Yes."

As they circled overhead, Kirito knew what he had to do. "Bastian, get Gizzard to land."

"What? You've got to be kidding me. We're not going down there!"

"Yui won't hurt you. Not when she sees me. Come on."

"Okay..."

Circling down to earth, Gizzard reared just before he hit the ground, then lowered himself down to earth. When he touched down, Bastian leapt off his back, Kirito sliding haphazardly after him.

Kirito looked around. The other players noticed them, but they almost immediately turned their attention back to Yui, who was tossing out fireballs from her orb. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Kirito bolted toward the orb, leaving Bastian in his dust.

"Hey! Where are you going!" Bastian shouted, then chased after him.

Kirito pelted all the way to the front lines, weaving in and out of the players that were jumping back and forth, trying to dodge Yui's attacks. As he shoved passed them, he saw they were all in the red, and nearly beaten. Kirito ran until he came to a stop right beneath the orb, then looked up. "Yui!"

The orb stopped throwing fireballs.

"Yui!" Kirito shouted. Everyone behind him stopped running, though he could still hear the occasional grunt of pain. "It's me! It's Daddy!"

There was a tense moment where the orb remained floating above them, everyone waiting with bated breath for something to happen. Then the orb slowly dissolved, and Yui, who was encased within, floated back down to earth. The huge sword in her hand disappeared in a puff of flame, and the moment her feet touched the ground, she ran toward Kirito.

"Daddy!" she cried, tears in her eyes.

She ran right into his outstretched arms. Kirito gathered her to him, feeling more relief than he'd ever thought is was possible to feel.

"I'm sorry, Yui," he whispered, too quiet for her to hear.

After a minute or so, someone cleared their throat behind them. Turning, Kirito surveyed the scene around him. There was Bastian with his dragon, watching the scene with worry in his eyes. Then, nearer, were about fifteen to twenty other players, all of them wearing a kind of scaled armor. Their dragons loomed around them, red, black, green...all of them huge. Instinctively, Kirito held Yui tighter, feeling the rage well up inside him.

"Which one of you summoned me here?" Kirito demanded. "Which one of you kidnapped Yui?"

For several heartbeats, nobody moved. Then, as if parting a sea, a man stepped forth from the center. The other players moved to make room. He had long blond hair that was almost white, and his green armor sparkled in the artificial sunlight. He walked forward until he was only a few paces away from Kirito. His stare was cold, calculating. Which was why Kirito was surprised when he cracked a smile. Yui clutched Kirito's arm more tightly.

"Kirito," the man cried. "I believe you are looking for me."

Kirito clenched his fists. "Who are you? What do you want with me? And why did you kidnap my daughter?"

The blond man wiped sweat from his brow. Still smiling, he said, "I think I'll start with your first question." There was a glint in his eye that Kirito didn't like.

"I'm Gene."

* * *

Until next time! Thanks for reading! Remember to review/fave/follow. Follow me on twitter (username saoirserobinson) for faster and custom updates! Also New Story Title Contest is GO! Just submit your idea for what you think the title of this fanfic should be changed to in the form of a review, tweet, or a PM. I will select my favorite, the winner can send me a description of an Original Character they want to be featured in this fanfic, and I will include that OC in the upcoming chapters. Remember, I will post updates regularly, so stay tuned. ~Saoirse


	4. Chapter 4: Gene

Story: "Even Heroes Bleed" by Saoirse Robinson

Chapter: "Gene"

Word Count: 3,500

Chapter Rating: T for sexual descriptions and language.

Chapter Description: Asuna meets trouble, while Kirito finds out more about Gene's motivations for kidnapping Yui.

* * *

Gene

_Careful...careful..._

Asuna was staring into a sealed glass container as the robotic arms she was controlling operated – surgeonlike – on a silvery ring that was suspended in the middle of its container. At present, the ring was open, revealing an internal structure of wires and computer chips. The robotic hands were meticulous in their operations, rearranging wires, running circuits, and installing new pieces.

When Asuna was finally done, she used the robotic hands to close up the ring. Once closed, it looked just like an unbroken silver hoop, one that could fit around a person's head and rest there comfortably. She looked at the time. 4:30 p.m: her shift at the lab was over. Rather than leave, however, Asuna looked around the lab. There was no one else about. Using the robotic arms about, she made one push a button on the inside of the glass case. A hole appeared in the top, big enough to allow her to withdraw the silver ring.

She slipped it into her bag.

Asuna strode out of the lab as though everything were normal, although beads of sweat broke out on her forehead as she walked down the hall. By the time she reached the elevator, she thought she was okay. Then someone stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello, Yuuki."

Asuna wheeled around. "Professor!"

The professor was smiling, but his eyes were shrewd. Her heart thumped in her chest. _Did he see me?_

"Yuuki," he said, coming to stand beside her, "can you show me what's in your bag?"

_Oh god oh god!_ Wincing, Asuna slowly opened up her bag, revealing the silver ring between her books. Her professor stared down at it with some amount of satisfaction. She waited.

"Yuuki, I thought better of you. Stealing?"

Asuna felt the tears start, "I'm sorry, Professor. I would never have stolen it if it weren't an...an emergency..."

"An emergency?" He was stroking his beard. "Well, to be honest I have a dozen of those prototypes. I won't miss one. But there is the matter of your stealing." The professor moved in, banishing the space between them as he towered over her. "I think we can arrange it so that I don't report you to the university police, and you get to keep that little prototype you've been working so hard on."

Asuna swallowed a lump in her throat. She didn't like where this was going.

"Come with me," he said, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her toward his office.

Once they were both inside, he shut the door behind them. She backed away from him, clutching her bag, but she soon felt the desk behind her, trapping her. He closed the gap between them, staring down at her.

_What does he want?_ Asuna thought.

"Do me one little favor, Yuuki, and I'll forget you tried to steal from me. I'll even let you take home that prototype." He smirked. "Take off your shirt."

Asuna's bladder let go in horror. How could he? He was a professor of the university, her employer too. She shifted uncomfortably, her panties soaked with urine, trying to back away from him. She had stolen, but what he was about to do was far worse. If it weren't for Yui, she would've thrown the prototype back in his face and gone to the university police herself. But there was Yui. She was missing, and this prototype was Asuna's only hope. _I could really use my rapier right about now..._

Asuna lashed out with a fist, but her professor caught it easily. She wasn't as strong here as she was in the game.

"Resorting to violence? Now you owe me more than a peak," he sneered. He shoved her back against the desk. "Now, take off that shirt, Yuuki. Let me see what you've got hiding under there."

Asuna stared down at her feet, refusing to look at him.

He shook her by the arm. "Do you want me to just turn you in right now?"

Red with anger and shame, Asuna pushed him away. "Fine. I'll do what you say. Just don't report me." _Kirito..._

Taking her shirt by the hem, she pulled it up over her head. Once it was off, she closed her eyes, humiliated. She heard her professor start to breath harder. When she felt his sweaty hand on her breast, she cried out.

"No! Get _off_!"

"Don't squirm," he said, twisting her nipple. She gave a cry of pain. "If you run away now, I won't let you keep that prototype."

She felt as if bugs were crawling up her spine as her professor squeezed her breasts, planting wet kisses on her neck. She stayed as quiet and as still as possible, just wishing for it to be over so she could run home and find Yui. _Oh god, what would Kirito think of me if he saw me like this? He'd never look at me again..._

A shiver of disgust ran through her as the professor's hand clawed at the hem of her skirt. He pushed it up, his hand almost at her underwear, but that was the last straw...

"Get _off_!" Asuna screamed, shoving him back as hard as she could. He stumbled, then slipped, hitting his head on the doorknob. When he fell to the floor, his head cracked on the tiles. He was out cold. Asuna stared at him for five whole seconds. Then, grasping her bag, she took off, slamming the door behind her in her haste to escape.

She ran all the way to the subway, and not once did she look back.

* * *

"Now will you tell me who you are?" Kirito growled, looking around at the surrounding players.

They had moved inside the ruined castle after Yui had come down from her orb. For privacy, or so the man who called himself Gene said. Although the castle was in ruins, there was still a mostly-in-tact Great Hall, in which they were all sitting at the moment. The wide oak table spared room for them all, though they'd left their dragons outside. All but Bastian, whose transforming dragon Gizzard could shrink in size. He was currently perched on Bastian's shoulder, watching the proceedings with interest.

Gene, who was the only one who'd remained standing, answered Kirito's question. "I already told you who we are."

Kirito was seated at the opposite end of the table, holding Yui in his lap as he stroked her hair. "No, I mean who are you, in the real world?" Kirito snapped. "Are you affiliated with Core Group Alpha?"

Gene frowned. "No. And if you don't mind, I'd rather not discuss them here."

Kirito's eyes widened. _I can't believe this guy..._

"Okay," Kirito said, "then why don't you tell me why you kidnapped Yui?"

"You mean," Gene said, "why did we steal her off your NerveGear's local memory, as well as from Asuna's AmuSphere and your backup drive?"

Kirito blanched. To have it done was one thing, but to have this guy say it so casually... Gene's eyes were hard and mirthless. He met Kirito's gaze without a trace of fear.

"To be honest, I can't tell you the whole story here, but I can at least tell you that we took her because we needed a bargaining chip. I knew I wasn't likely to get your help without one."

This took Kirito aback. "A bargaining chip?"

"Yes."

"For what? What do you need my help with?"

"You'll find out soon. In the real world," Gene said. His white hair shone in the light coming through the broken windows. "Keep in mind that you still don't have Yui back. She's saved to my AmuSphere's local memory. So when I log out, Yui will disappear."

Yui clutched Kirito tightly. "Daddy! Don't let them take me!"

_Dammit! _Kirito thought. He needed to get a copy of Yui to the CGA by midnight...but based on everything he'd just witnessed, was it safe to give Yui over to the CGA? Would a copy of Yui lash out too? Would she be afraid? He looked down at his daughter, huddled in his lap, her face buried against his shirt. What could he do? One thing was for sure: he had to work with this so-called Gene in order to get Yui safely back on his NerveGear. What on earth did they want from him?

"Gene," someone called. Everyone looked to the man in the red armor who had spoken. "I say we don't give him anything until he pays what he owes us for that dragon. It's going to take a week for Ataraxia to respawn!"

"Maybe your dragon wouldn't have died if you hadn't taken my daughter!" Kirito fumed.

"Frankly, I don't see how you guys can call yourselves the top guild in the realm," Bastian chipped in, forcing everyone to look down. "Especially after you got your asses handed to you by a little girl."

At that, the whole table started shouting. "Who is this guy, anyway?" someone complained, gesturing at Bastian.

"Now," Gene raised his hands, and the room quieted, the echoes of their raised voices settling in the dusty corners. "Gentlemen. We're here to work together. Yui is just here to persuade Kirito."

Kirito glared at Gene, who wore a sword at his hip. If only Kirito had kept his level in this realm. But no, he told himself, that wouldn't solve the problem. Whoever Gene was in real life, that's who he needed to go after.

As if reading his mind, Gene said, "I want you to meet me in the real world. If you listen, I promise I will return Yui's file to you."

Kirito blinked at him. The other members seemed shocked.

"I didn't think it would be like this," Gene said, "but I also didn't think Yui would be so powerful. She forced my hand. Now I want to meet you."

_Good,_ Kirito thought. _If we meet soon, I can get Yui back in time to make a copy of her for Sylver._

"Fine," Kirito said. "Where?"

"I'll send you a message in the real world."

"And you'll give Yui back even if I don't agree to help you?"

Gene was silent for several moments.

"Yes. But I believe that you will agree to help me, after listening to what I have to say."

Holding back his smile, Kirito nodded. _This is too easy_, he thought. Looking back to Yui, he held her close. "Don't worry, Yui-chan. I'll come back for you."

"I know you will, Daddy," she said, wiping at her tears.

Giving Yui one last hug, Kirito stood.

"Hey, where are you going?" Bastian cried as Kirito brought up his logout screen.

"Where do you think?" Kirito said, staring directly into Gene's eyes as he pressed logout. "I'm going back to the real world." Even as he spoke, the castle disappeared, leaving only whiteness in its wake. Moments later, Kirito awoke on his futon, staring up at the ceiling.

He leapt out of bed as if he'd been jolted with electricity. Immediately, he began rummaging around the room for his eyeglass.

"Come on, where are you?" he muttered, sorting through his bed linens, then rifling through his desk. Eventually he realized his eyeglass was right where he left it: next to his computer. He slipped it on. There was a notification waiting.

The sender was still unknown, but he knew who it was.

_Meet me by the fountain at Erie-Lackawanna Park..._

Kirito brought up the map, then scowled. That was all the way in Hoboken. But he supposed he didn't have a choice. Grumbling, he pulled on a jacket, checked for his metropass, and then hurried out the door.

As he rocked back and forth on the train to New Jersey, Kirito wondered if this Gene character weren't a part of the CGA after all. The more he thought about it, though, the less sense it made. And what could they possibly want his help with? Was it that they had kidnapped Yui, hoping to coax her into helping them, only to realize she wouldn't work with anyone except Kirito? There were so many possibilities. One thing was for sure: if he didn't get Yui's file back, he'd have to find some way to convince Sylver to give him more time.

He arrived at the park precisely an hour later. The water was lapping at the long pier and the docks, and there were pigeon's everywhere, although they didn't seem to be afraid of humans. They walked right up to strollers, past the old men playing chess without any reservations. When Kirito looked toward the fountain, he saw a dozen children frolicking, playing all around the big statue in the center. He came closer, realizing that there were more tourists here than he would have expected. He supposed it was par for the course, being in New York, or close enough to it. There were always tourists about, people with cameras, visitors. Kirito looked all around the fountain, but he couldn't see anyone who looked like Gene anywhere.

Then a boy waved to him.

The boy was sitting on the bench, a few crackers in his hands that he was using to feed to the pigeons. His sandy blond hair was so long, and his glasses so big, they made his nose and chin seem like afterthoughts. He was clearly a boy though – perhaps still in grade school. For a long moment, Kirito just stared at him, affronted that they would involve him in some stupid game. Then he realized...maybe this was serious. Maybe this boy was, in fact, the person he was looking for.

He walked over to the bench, and sat down.

"Are you Gene?" he asked.

The boy nodded.

"So you use your real name in-game, huh?" Kirito asked, feeling awkward.

He shrugged. "It's not that weird. Asuna uses her name too. Doesn't she?"

The way he said it raised the hackles on Kirito's neck. He remembered then that he needed to get Yui back, grade-school boy or not.

"You said if I heard you out, you'd return Yui's file to me."

The boy slowly nodded. "Yes. After you hear me out though, I want to hear what you think."

Kirito waited.

"Ever since the death game," Gene said, tossing crackers to the pigeons, "there have been more and more people who want to live there lives in the World Sphere, and give up life on the other side. But the tricky part is feeding the body. You can't leave your body alone for that long, which is why everyone playing Sword Art Online had to be hospitalized and fed through tubes nine years ago."

An image of Asuna in the hospital flashed in front of Kirito's eyes. He remembered the weeks he'd spent recovering when he'd gotten out, the years of school they'd had to make up for in only a few months. Readjusting to normal life...or trying to, at least.

"Years ago," the boy continued, "the company Arc Empire started developing technology that would allow people to transport their consciousness into the World Sphere, leaving their physical bodies behind."

_Transport consciousness? _A wave of shock passed through Kirito as the meaning sunk in. To leave this body behind, to live the rest of his life in the World Sphere, with all the worlds at his disposal. If he lived in the World Sphere though, would his life have an ending? What if he were killed in the game?

"I can see you're interested," Gene said. "The company has also been working on developing a world that is entirely comprised of safe zones. A world where everyone could live, safe, forever."

"That's..." Kirito said. "That's amazing."

Gene nodded. "The company is keeping the technology a secret, though. They're planning to sell the ability to be placed permanently in-game for a ridiculous price. It's all about the money for them. And once in-game, Arc Empire would have full control over the world these people lived in. Arc Empire would essentially become the god of the new world, deciding whether they lived or died."

"The new Kayaba," Kirito muttered.

"Exactly," Gene said. He turned his face, directing the huge glasses up at Kirito. "Which is why I want to steal the technology and offer it up to the user community, open source."

Kirito felt suddenly anxious. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"My people are good," Gene said, "but Arc Empire is better. For now at least. Arc Empire is the company who built Dragon Realm Online, which is why we've invested so much time there. At first we wanted to use you to hack Dragon Realm, but once we saw what you could do with Yui, we realized she was your trump card."

Kirito listened in mild shock. "Who are you anyway? Who is _we_?"

"_We _call ourselves Manticore," he said. "I'm their leader."

Blinking down at the little blond-haired boy, Kirito felt thoroughly confused. Were they all children? Looking around the park, Kirito suddenly became aware of a few tourists who didn't seem to be moving – big, burly men holding cameras, but in actuality they were watching the exchange between Kirito and Gene, he saw. _Not all children, it looks like..._

"So," Gene went on, "as you can see, stealing the program called Yui didn't work. Now I have to ask you – Yui's handler – if you will help us hack Dragon Realm Online."

Kirito didn't like the way he said handler. This boy may be small, _he thought_, but he's smart. Maybe even dangerous.

"You're really not affiliated with the CGA?" Kirito asked.

"No," he said. "The CGA's goals are the complete opposite of ours. Though I understand you're working for them out of fear, right?"

_I am,_ Kirito thought. _What happens if I'm working for both Manticore and the CGA? I wouldn't exactly be indebted to Manticore though. Gene is telling me he'll give Yui back to me after this conversation._

"If you plan to give Yui back after you're done here," Kirito said, "what reason do I have to work for you?"

"You agree with us," Gene said bluntly. "You agree that the lives of people shouldn't be in the hands of one company. And you also think that if someone wants to live in-game, they have the right to." After a moment of silence, he added, "But if that's not incentive enough...if you do this, Manticore can get back the files the CGA is using to blackmail you."

_He's lying,_ Kirito thought, but then, he looked completely serious. _How? I've tried everything. There's no way..._

"If you can hack Dragon Realm, I'll get rid of the blackmail myself," Gene said. Throwing down the last of his crackers, he wiped his hand off on his pants, and then held it out to Kirito. "Do we have a deal?"

Kirito stared at the boy's hand, so small. Yet...Kirito had been only fifteen when he'd defeated Kayaba, something no one thought he was capable of doing. After a long moment, Kirito grasped the boy's hand and shook it.

When they let go, Gene stood up immediately. "Here," he handed Kirito a chip. Yui. "If there are any problems with it, let me know. We're partners now."

_Sort of_, Kirito thought, but he took the chip, tucking it inside his pocket. He felt immensely relieved. He wouldn't have to worry about the CGA making good on their blackmail. _For now._ There was always the next time, and the next time. What did they want with Yui anyway? The thought worried him. _Manticore doesn't know that the CGA wants Yui, do they? And is very close to obtaining a copy of Yui..._

Should he tell Gene? He wondered. No. He didn't know how much he could trust Gene yet. And the fact that Gene was making hacking Dragon Realm a condition for taking care of the blackmail...well, Gene may have called them partners, but to Kirito, that seemed an awful lot like another form of blackmail.

_I don't have any partners,_ Kirito said. _It was always safer that way._

"I have to go home," Gene said. "My Dad's waiting for me." And with that, he skipped off across the park, and disappeared down the street.

Kirito watched him go. The boy's goonies followed him a minute later, so as not to attract attention. He sat on the bench for a long time after that, just thinking. The time read 3:00. Only nine more hours before he would be required to hand over Yui's data. He didn't want to hand over Yui, but he had no choice. Any way he looked at it, he had no choice.

* * *

Thanks for reading! More updates coming soon. I really appreciate knowing what you think of the story, please fave or leave a review! It helps me a lot. I also like just knowing who is reading it. If you don't fave, I don't know if you actually like the story! Thanks ~Saoirse


	5. Chapter 5: Mykonos

Story: "Even Heroes Bleed" by Saoirse Robinson

Chapter: "Mykonos"

Word Count: 2,900

Individual Chapter Rating: T for sexual descriptions and language

Chapter Description: Asuna and Kirito reveal secrets to one another. Asuna takes back control.

* * *

Mykonos

When Kirito arrived home, he immediately reinstalled Yui's files onto his NerveGear and Asuna's Amusphere. Knowing they had been hacked so easily disturbed him, so he put a copy of Yui onto a drive he had that was not connected to the internet. If he were honest with himself, though, there was nothing he could do about being hacked. Manticore was just better than he was, apparently. But the fact that they had kidnapped Yui meant that Yui was better than they were. Kirito knew he would have to use Yui to hack into Dragon Realm, but he felt guilty about it.

A notification popped up on his glass: it was from Magdalene.

_Deliver the files to me in person. Meet me at the Brass Pony tonight at midnight._

As Kirito stared at the directive, he heard the door open.

He peeked out of the study, and as he did, his eyes met Asuna's. Surprised, she said, "Kirito! I d-didn't know you'd be home..."

He ran up to her, taking her in his arms, "Asuna, I got Yui back. I got her back."

The words seemed to take a long time to register. She stared up at him, looking scared. Then, slowly, her expression turned to one of relief. "Kirito...oh, Kirito." She hugged him, squeezing him tightly. For a while they simply held each other.

"How?" she said. "How did you get Yui back? Who took her?"

_What can I say? _Asuna didn't know he was a hacker. What would she think if she knew Kirito was being watched by groups like Manticore or the CGA? How long they'd been watching him, he didn't know. They could be watching him right now, for all he knew. A part of him was convinced that Asuna didn't need to know, didn't need to worry. Another part of him, though, wanted to tell Asuna the truth...wanted to stop hiding things from her.

"The person who took Yui wanted to get my attention," Kirito began. "He wanted my...my help."

"Your help with what?" Asuna asked. She was looking up at him with confusion in her eyes.

_It's now or never. _"They want me to hack into Dragon Realm Online's servers."

Asuna stared up at him, her mouth slightly open. "Hack into...? Can you do that?"

Kirito nodded, avoiding her eyes. "I can. Not without Yui's help though."

"Yui? But why...why would you hack Dragon Realm Online?"

"Dragon Realm is owned by a large company that's developing dangerous technology...technology that might make them a lot of money, and give them control over users' lives like back in the death game. I want to help stop them."

"You _trust _some person you just met? You trust the person who took Yui?" Asuna said, her stare piercing him.

_No, _Kirito thought. _Of course I don't, but I need Gene and Manticore to erase the blackmail for me. _What he said, however, was, "Yes. I trust him."

Asuna looked into his eyes for a long time, and Kirito made himself hold her gaze. Eventually, however, her eyes fluttered shut. She suddenly looked incredibly weary. "You don't need to use Yui to hack into Dragon Realm Online's servers," she said. "I can do it."

Kirito's eyes widened. _What? _"Asuna..."

Slowly, she withdrew something from her bag. It was a silver hoop, as big as a saucer.

"I've been developing this in the lab..." she swallowed, "I figured out a way to alter my professor's prototype. This version is called _Mykonos_. He let me...he let me keep it."

"He let you keep it? What...what does it do?"

"It can hack into anything. It analyzes the system and gives you the commands to enter in order to break in. We just have to find a GM console, and I can do it."

Kirito stared at her, feeling like he didn't even know her. His own wife. He knew she was in the Computer Science program just like he was – they'd both been accepted, after all – but he'd been so wrapped up in his own life, he hadn't even realized Asuna was capable of engineering something like this. Within that slim ring was an A.I., massive amounts of code, and a veritable super computer... And Asuna had built it. Kirito suddenly felt overcome with guilt at hiding so much from her. Asuna, however, didn't even seem mad.

Perhaps Asuna had secrets of her own. If Kirito could keep his double life from her for so long, what was Asuna capable of? Kirito didn't want to start thinking about that. He looked at his wife, but she was staring down at her feet. Kirito saw there were tears falling. The guilt returned.

"Asuna..." he breathed, "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. I never told you..."

Asuna reached out her hands – and shoved him aside. Intaking air sharply, Kirito watched Asuna stomp into her bedroom and shut the doors behind her. He wondered if he should follow her. Deciding that was the only thing he could do, he went in after her.

He found Asuna curled up in bed, protected by covers. Her face was turned away from him, although he could see her shaking. Moving in closer, he lay down on the bed, scooting as close to her as he could. He whispered into her ear.

"Asuna, I'm sorry. I never told you about hacking because...because I didn't want you to have to worry. After all you've been through..."

"It's not that," she said.

"What?"

"It's not...I'm not mad at you," she said. "I'm just... I'm just glad that Yui is back home."

Although she'd said the words, her tone of voice told Kirito this was one of the most unbelievable things she'd ever said. But if she wouldn't tell him the truth...he supposed that all he could do was offer wordless comfort. When he went to move closer, however, she pushed him away.

"I'm sorry Kirito, I just," she sighed, "I just want to be alone right now."

Curling back up into a ball, Asuna stared out the window, tears running down her cheeks. Kirito watched her for a while, feeling rejected and unsure. Eventually he retreated to study. Perhaps she really was mad that he'd kept all that from her, she just couldn't admit it. Or maybe someone had shown her the blackmail...

_No, they wouldn't._ He'd done everything they'd asked him. He was going to meet them at the Brass Pony tonight. As he sat as his desk, he set the file of Yui to copying. He briefly entertained the idea of altering her...but no. Not only did the idea of altering his daughter seem repugnant, but...what if the CGA found out? They'd send Asuna the blackmail for sure. After a while of surfing the web while Yui copied, Kirito got bored, and realized he was hungry. He went into the kitchen to make dinner, hoping the smell of food would bring Asuna out of her room.

He was right: it did. Kirito was just cracking the eggs when Asuna crept out of her bedroom, avoiding Kirito's eyes. She lingered by the door, as if afraid to enter the kitchen.

"I made some Gyudon," Kirito said. "Do you want some?"

Asuna stared at the floor. Then, out of nowhere, she rushed toward Kirito and threw her arms around him. He had to stretch out the hand that was holding the egg shells so as not to get egg all over her.

"A-Asuna..."

"I love you, Kirito," she said. She looked up at him. "No matter what."

Kirito blinked at her. He could feel himself flushing. Did she really mean that? Surely she didn't... but she looked so sincere, and for a moment, it was as if she could see right through him, to the other woman he'd kissed, to the things he'd done in the name of the CGA to small game-world owners, and she had accepted him for it all. Although a voice in the back of his mind was barking at him that it just wasn't true, he gravitated toward the comfort of this thought, the comfort of her arms.

"I love you too, Asuna," he said. "No matter what."

They held each other for a long time. After a while they sat down to dinner, and before Kirito even realized it, it was nine o'clock. When Asuna retreated to her room to do homework, he went to his study, keeping an eye on the progress of Yui's copy. There were only a few minutes left. After a while Asuna laid down to go to sleep, and Kirito laid down with her, waiting until her breathing slowed enough to leave her there, blissful, unaware, and ignorant of who he was about to meet, and what he was about to do.

When the clock struck eleven, he slipped on his eyeglass, and went out to meet Magdalene.

He took the subway. When he arrived at the Brass Pony – another bar – he ducked inside, weaving through the shadowed crowds, searching for the woman with the long dark hair. There were several, but he recognized Magdalene instantly. She was sitting at the bar, wearing one of her usual low-cut dresses, her hair dripping over her shoulder. Like a cat, she fixed her eyes on him as he approached, watching him. He took the seat at the bar next to her and ordered a drink.

"I assume you have what we asked for?"

He handed her the thumb drive wordlessly.

"Oh good," she said. "I suppose you won't have to worry about that blackmail for a while. At least for a day," she smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes were cold.

Downing the shot of liquor he'd ordered, he rounded on her. "Is that all?"

"Kirito, I'm offended. Don't you want to sit and have a drink with me?" she slid a hand up his thigh. He slapped her hand away.

"Why, so you can get video of me again?"

"No one else is here, Kirito," she said, massaging the hand he'd slapped. "It's just you and me. Oh, come on, tell me you haven't thought about it. We already have blackmail on you. Why not go all the way?"

He looked at her. She was all sensuous curves. She looked like a woman out of a magazine, and he could tell the men around him were jealous that he was the one she was talking to.

"Aren't you attracted to me?" she purred.

She was staring at him with her cold, hungry eyes. Kirito felt his stomach tighten. "No."

Her eyes widened. "Kirito, there are some things you should lie to a woman about." Grasping the drive Kirito had given her, she stuffed it into her purse, then stood. "You can pay," she tossed back.

"Wait," Kirito said. Magdalene paused, glancing back at him. "What do you want with Yui anyway?"

She smirked, "Now why would I tell you that?"

With that, she waltzed out of the bar, the eyes of a dozen men following her out the door.

Kirito stayed there for a while afterward, drinking beneath the sullied amber lights hanging from the ceiling above.

* * *

The next day, Asuna went into the lab before Kirito had even woken up. He'd seemed immovable anyway: she'd shaken him, but he hadn't budged, just stayed sound asleep. In a way she was glad for this. She got dressed in a hurry, then made it down to the subway just in time to catch the train, tossing a coin to one of the musicians playing as she ran toward the open train doors.

When she arrived outside the lab, she took a deep breath. It was early, so early that no one should be there yet. The lab was under lock and key, but when Asuna got to the touch pad, she used a tiny screw driver to take it apart. Taking Mykonos out of her bag, she pulled a wire out from its smooth side, attaching it to a wire in the control panel. She then placed the ring on her head. She had synced it with her eyeglass, so in an instant, all sorts of code started popping up before her eyes. As it ran, she tapped to accept, sometimes scrolling through and editing something, but most all of it looked to be doing the job. Finally the control panel flashed green, as though she had entered a professor's code, letting her in.

Placing Mykonos back into her bag, she snuck into the lab. The halls were all dark, though the morning light streamed through the occasional window. She made it all the way to her professor's office, though being back there gave her chills. It was empty. Going over to his computer, she took out Mykonos again and hooked it up to his computer.

When she put it back on her head, loads of code started flashing by, faster than she could track. She got a FAILED warning several times, but finally the ring cracked the code. She was in. Lifting the files she needed, she deleted them from his main hard drive and uploaded them to her cloud.

When her professor finally arrived in the lab, he paused in the doorway to his office, ogling her. She was sitting back in his chair, trembling but sure of herself.

He rushed her right away. "What do you think you're doing here? I had to get stitches you little bit–"

As he rounded the desk toward her, Asuna rose, jamming a concealed knife up against his side. She made sure he could feel the blade, though she didn't slip it in. She waited, his eyes bugging out at her.

"Shut up and listen," Asuna said. "I've just stolen all your research data. All of it. It's uploaded to my cloud and only I can break in. Did you hear me? All your data, everything you've ever learned from this lab, all the information on your prototypes, is gone."

Slow horror dawned on his face. Gradually he took a step back, then another. He stared at her, fish-mouthing.

"My life's work..." he muttered.

"If you want it back, you have to leave." Asuna said, putting the knife away. She knew she didn't need it anymore. "Resign. Quit your job. Move out of state. You can get a job at another university, I don't care. Behave like a decent human being for one year. Only then will I consider giving you your data back."

His face twisted in anger. "You bitch. You fucking little bitch."

Asuna stared into his eyes, feeling almost sorry for him. He was pathetic. A bit of spittle had formed in the corner of his mouth. She couldn't believe she had once looked up to him. "You can call me all the names you want. It doesn't change the fact that your data is hidden somewhere, and only I know where it is. If you ever want to see it again, do what I say."

"You'll pay for this–"

"Careful," Asuna said. "Is that any way to speak to your new master?"

As he stared at Asuna, his mouth hung slightly open. His eyes suddenly filled with tears. Going around his office, he started grabbing things, stuffing them into bags. Grabbing his name placard, he shoved that into his bag and then turned, heading toward the door. He cast one last look back at Asuna.

"One year?" he asked.

"One year," she said, not feeling sorry in the least.

She felt an immense satisfaction watching him go. She lingered for a minute in the now empty office, listening to the sound of the far door shutting, and his footsteps disappearing down the stairs. After several minutes, she tapped her eyeglass, placing a call.

The phone rang in her ear. On the fourth ring, someone picked up.

"Asuna."

She took a breath. "Alta. I'm glad you picked up."

"Of course. What news do you have?"

"I wanted to let you know that I have Mykonos."

"Oh? How did you manage that?"

"It's a long story," she said. "I've also obtained copies of all my professor's data. You should be able to see it in my cloud right now."

"Very nice. Well done."

Asuna was twisting her wedding ring on her finger.

"Why so quiet, Asuna?"

"I have some other news," she said.

"Yes?"

She hesitated. She let go of her wedding ring.

"It's about Dragon Realm Online."

* * *

Is Kirito smart to trust Gene and Manticore? How badass is Asuna! And who is Alta? Thanks for reading! If you like it fave/review, otherwise I won't know what you think ^^ Thanks. It may be a while before the next update, because school is really busy for me, but let me know what you would like to see happen next! ~Saoirse


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